Reflection-control system and method

ABSTRACT

A termination circuit changes impedance to match a transmission line impedance. The change is made after a signal driver applies a signal through the termination circuit to the transmission line but before a signal reflection returns from an end of the transmission line.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to maintaining signal integrity ontransmission lines and, in particular, to dampening transmission linereflections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Transmission line termination refers to strategies or systems used tocancel, mitigate, or dampen signal reflections on transmission lines.Appropriate termination techniques also mitigate other signal integrityproblems such as “ringing” oscillations and signal delays. Whenelectronic circuitry employs high-speed components such as fastmicroprocessors, for example, it is particularly helpful to includeproper termination impedance-matching strategies in signal transmissionline designs.

As the speed of digital circuits increases, a number of characteristicsrelated to signal integrity and transmission line behavior deteriorate.It can be expected, for example, that as clock rates rise, crosstalk,the unintended influence of a line's electromagnetic field on othersignals, increases. For example, when the clock rate of a systemdoubles, crosstalk tends to double. Further, as signal speeds increase,electromagnetic noise increases, thus affecting signal integrity. Addingan increased number of power and ground connections and more bypasscapacitors to shunt electromagnetic noise may help mitigate theseeffects. At some point, however, new strategies to minimize transmissionline reflections and crosstalk will be needed to preserve signalintegrity.

At today's speeds, even the passive elements of a high-speed design,features such as the wires and printed circuit board (PCB) traces, forexample, as well as chip packages, can contribute significantly tooverall signal delay and exacerbate timing and logic errors. The secularmove toward ever-increasing speeds without commensurate improvements intransmission line signal management and termination will make signalintegrity preservation an escalating issue in high speed electronics.

Driver characteristics may be modified to improve signal integrity.Lower output impedance drivers tend to drive heavily loaded signals morequickly. Drivers with controlled variation in output impedance fromcycle to cycle also tend to improve transmission line impedance matchingthus inhibiting reflection behavior. Lower transmission line impedancesand lower driver output impedances typically result, however, in higherpower consumption as lower impedances dissipate more power.

Signal integrity management strategies typically include appropriatetermination structures devised to inhibit signal reflections that ariseon the transmission line. Unfortunately, termination structures occupyspace and dissipate power. Designers in the art, therefore, sometimesavoid adding physical termination structures to board designs.

Two principle techniques are employed in termination structures: source(series) termination and load (parallel) termination. Source or seriestermination places an impedance (many times a simple resistor) betweenthe signal driver and the transmission line. Load or paralleltermination places an impedance parallel with the receiver or load atterminal point of the transmission line. Sometimes the two methods arecombined.

Because source impedance is typically more predictable than loadimpedance, a series termination impedance typically better matches theimpedance of a transmission line than does the impedance of a paralleltermination scheme. Further, because a series termination, unlike aparallel termination, does not typically consume appreciable power afterthe line is driven HIGH, a series termination often consumes less powerthan does a parallel termination. Series terminations typically present,however, a relatively high series impedance that can impede signalintegrity by increasing the transmission line RC characteristic.

The basic termination schemes are often seen in a variety of modifiedforms. One technique adjusts, for example, an on-chip variable paralleltermination to match a reference resistor. The on-chip termination istypically a network of parallel resistors controlled by series switchesand a feedback circuit. This scheme uses little PCB space but, like manyparallel termination schemes, can dissipate power even after thetransmission line has been driven HIGH. One example of such a techniqueis purportedly depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,958 to Bergman, et al. Italso can be difficult to terminate a complex topology like a DRAMaddress net.

Other techniques have been developed for matching transmission lineimpedance. One such scheme employs an adaptive transmission linetermination including a linearly-variable resistor connected either inseries with the sending end of a transmission line or, in parallel withthe receiving end of the line. A feedback circuit varies the resistanceto constantly match line impedance. This scheme attempts to mitigatecycle-to-cycle variance in transmission line and driver outputimpedances. When in series mode, this termination does not switch to alower impedance when the line is driven HIGH and, consequently, does notmitigate the RC effect of the higher impedance that is oftencharacteristic of series termination strategies. An example of thisscheme is purportedly depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,608 to Levesque.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,893 to Bates depicts a system in which drivers arecoupled to different points on a transmission line. The drivers eachinclude a transistor in series with a resistance that matches thetransmission line impedance. The transistor at one driver is ON toprovide a load end parallel termination whenever another driver might beactive. This system and many others like it, allow multiple devices todrive signals on the same transmission line, but they still exhibitproblems inherent to parallel termination schemes such as higher powerconsumption and imprecise impedance matching, for example.

In any of the known termination schemes, when no load termination isused, the input impedance of the receiver is present at the load end ofthe transmission line. This impedance is typically a complex value withcapacitive and resistive components. Because the typical receiver inputresistance is higher than the transmission line impedance, the mismatchinduces a reflection. This reflection wave or impulse can travel with anuncontrolled characteristic on the transmission line and impede or, insome cases, prevent accurate signal reception.

What is needed, therefore, is a technique and system for terminating atransmission line to reduce reflections, improve signal integrity, anddrive the line HIGH quickly while presenting lower impedances andconsuming minimal PCB space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A transmission line is terminated with a series termination circuit thatchanges impedance in relation to the timing of applied signals. Theimpedance of the series termination circuit changes from a short circuit(or near short) to a matched impedance after substantial energy of anapplied signal passes through the series termination circuit to thetransmission line but before an initial signal reflection returns from aload end of the transmission line.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system includes a seriestermination that substantially matches the transmission line impedanceand a switch connected in parallel to the series termination. The switchcloses before the transition of an applied signal. After the signal isapplied through the closed switch but before an initial reflectionarrives back at the driver site of the transmission line, the switchopens, placing the series termination between the driver and thetransmission line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art circuit illustrating series and paralleltermination schemes.

FIG. 2 is a symbolic depiction of a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is an alternative symbolic depiction of an alternative embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a further alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating signals and events related toone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a procedure for configuring certainembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is graph of a rising load voltage according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art circuit illustrating examples of series andparallel termination schemes. As shown in FIG. 1, basic driver 12receives a signal “S” to be transmitted. Basic driver 12 typicallytransmits signal “S” from its output by applying digital HIGH and LOWsignals, which typically have rising edges and falling edges duringtransitions between HIGH and LOW values. Basic driver 12 may be any of avariety of drivers including, for example, a Gunning Transistor Logic(GTL) style driver, a tri-state driver, or a complementary pair driver.These are just examples and those of skill in the art will recognizethat the principles described here are applicable to a wide variety ofdriving circuits and conductive elements and media that exhibittransmission line behavior in the conveyance of energy.

Basic driver 12 is connected to a first terminal 13 of the seriestermination 14. Series termination 14 is also known as a “sourcetermination” and may be referred to as either a source or seriestermination.

Although illustrated for ease of depiction as a resistance element,those of skill will recognize that in many circuits, series termination14 is a complex impedance, that is, it exhibits capacitance andinductance. Series termination 14 may also be an active component or acombination of active components, such as, for example, a transistorwith a controlled input voltage to present a characteristic impedanceuseful in source termination. Series termination 14 is preferablydevised to present an impedance that matches the impedance oftransmission line 16 to cancel or dampen signal reflections that mayarise in system 10.

The second terminal 15 of series termination 14 is connected to theproximal end “P” of transmission line 16. Transmission line 16 isdevised to convey electrical signals from basic driver 12 to one or morereceivers. Transmission line 16 is typically a PCB trace, but may takemany forms including, for example, coaxial cable, wires, wire pairs,ribbon cables, back-plane PCB traces and connectors, optical fibers,waveguides or dielectric slabs, or combinations of these and othersignal lines known in the art. As is well-known, other circuit elementsmay exhibit electromagnetic field and propagation effects (such asmutual inductance, capacitance, and reflections) of a theoreticaltransmission line and although the invention may be used profitably withtransmission lines 16 that exhibit classic transmission line behavior,the use of the invention is not limited to those systems wheretransmission line 16 meets that definition but may be used to advantagein the wide variety of types, lengths, and sizes of media used to conveyenergy. Further, other elements, such as, for example, on-die signalpaths, pins of packaged integrated circuits, connectors, stackingconnectors, and other elements known in the art may be considered asbeing part of transmission line 16 exemplified in the Figures herein.Transmission line 16 is shown as being broken with separating lines toindicate that it may have significant length. Transmission line 16 mayfurther include several “ends” that branch out and/or terminate atseveral different locales or sub-circuits. Transmission line 16 isdepicted with only one distal end “D”, but as those of skill willrecognize, it may have many distal ends.

Distal end “D” of transmission line 16 is connected to the receiver load18, which is shown as being connected in parallel with a paralleltermination 17. The depicted parallel termination 17 may appear on atransmission line with or without an accompanying series termination 14.It is well known to those of skill in the art that termination 17 mayinclude a complex impedance or active elements such as transistors, forexample. In any case, termination 17 is preferably devised to match theimpedance of receiver load 18 to the impedance of transmission line 16.

Receiver load 18 is represented in FIG. 1 by a capacitive circuit todepict the capacitive characteristics which are typically quite relevantto signal integrity. Receiver load 18 may also, in this specification,be referred to as “receiver 18” or “load 18”, however, those of skill inthe art will recognize that the depiction of load 18 as a capacitivefeature is a heuristic simplification of more complex phenomena andstructure. Receiver 18 is the reception point for signals conveyed bytransmission line 16 and, in practice, receiver 18 typically passesreceived signals to other circuits “downstream” from receiver 18. Suchother circuits are not shown in FIG. 1 to simplify the illustration.Most receivers have a high input resistance which is not represented asa separate circuit element because high input resistances do nottypically introduce large or significant errors into the operation ofthe circuit. However, the capacitance of load 18 affects theresistive/capacitive time constant of the circuit and is, therefore,symbolically depicted.

FIG. 2 illustrates in system 20 a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention devised to inhibit deleterious reflections. System 20 includesreflection control driver 30, transmission line 16 and load 18. Those ofskill will recognize that transmission line 16 and load 18 are idealizedrepresentations and may include complex topologies and behavioralattributes arising from multiple taps and branches, in the case oftransmission line 16, for example, and, complex inductive behavior inthe case of load 18, for example.

Reflection control driver 30 includes basic driver 12, switch 31, andseries termination 14. Basic driver 12 can be any type of driver knownin the art. Preferably, basic driver 12 has an output impedance of lessthan 2 ohms. As those of skill in the art will understand, basic driver12 is presented with signal S to be conveyed on transmission line 16.Basic driver 12 conditions signal S for conveyance on transmission line16 and presents a conditioned signal at output 32. The conditionedsignals are typically binary signals that have HIGH and LOW voltagesrepresenting binary 1 's and 0's. These signals must pass through switch31 and/or termination 14 to reach transmission line 16 and receiver 18.Preferably, in an integrated semiconductor implementation of thedepicted embodiment, switch 31 and termination 14 are located on-die,near basic driver 12.

Termination 14 is connected in series between driver output 32 and theproximal end P of transmission line 16. Termination 14 may be any typeof termination known in the art, including, but not limited to, thosediscussed with regard to FIG. 1. Switch 31 is connected in parallel totermination 14 such that when switch 31 is closed, a signal canpropagate from driver output 32 through switch 31 to transmission line16. Switch 31 has a control terminal 34 which receives control signalsand causes switch 31 to close or open in response thereto. Preferably,control terminal 34 is a binary type input terminal. In this preferredembodiment, control terminal 34 is connected to driver output 32,although those of skill will recognize that control terminal 34 may becontrolled by any of a variety of well known timing and control schemesincluding passive and active techniques.

In a preferred embodiment, control terminal 34 operates to open switch31 some predictable delay period after basic driver 12 applies arising-edged signal to control terminal 34. Consequently, therising-edged signal passes through closed switch 31 to proximal end P oftransmission line 16. Consequently, substantially all of the impulse ofthe rising-edged signal propagates through closed switch 31 rather thantermination 14. When the rising-edged signal travels throughtransmission line 16 and reaches receiver 18, a reflection isprecipitated by the impedance mis-match between receiver 18 andtransmission line 16. When the reflection returns to proximal end P oftransmission line 16, the delay period between the application of therising-edged control signal upon control terminal 34 and the consequentopening of switch 31 has passed. Consequently, with switch 31 opened,the reflection is diverted to pass through termination 14. Termination14, chosen to match the impedance of reflection control driver 30 to theimpedance of transmission line 16 dampens the return reflection.

Although a rising-edged signal has been introduced, those of skill inthe art will realize after appreciating this specification that avariety of signaling schemes having a variety of signal transitionsproducing reflection wave-fronts can be effectively managed using theinvention. With a transmitting scheme that uses negative voltage levelsor more than two voltage levels, for example, the invention may be usedto advantage at each signal transition which produces, in thatparticular signaling scheme, a reflection. The desired delay time ofswitch 31 and the related timing exhibited by the signal reflection ontransmission line 16 will be further described with reference to FIG. 6.

Switch 31 is preferably a high-speed FET switch, but may be any switchfast enough to open and close within the needed timing parameters, a fewexamples of which are described with reference to FIG. 6. For example,switch 31 may be implemented with a single transistor or a combinationof transistors or other electronic switches known in the art. The delaytime of switch 31 may be managed with several possible sources. Forexample, switch 31 may be chosen so that its inherent switching timematches the desired delay. Other strategies may use a delay element 35placed to delay the input to control terminal 34 as shown in FIG. 2 asanother alternative in delay timing management. If such a delay element35 is used, it is chosen, preferably, to add to the switching delay ofswitch 31 to produce the desired delay. Delay element 35 may beimplemented by connecting an external element, such as a capacitor,resistor, or length of PCB trace.

Switch 31 maybe closed, however, any time between dampening of a signalreflection and application of the next transitioning-edged signal frombasic driver 12. In preferred applications, switch 31 is closed uponapplication of a rising-edged signal at control terminal 34 and opens arelated delay time later.

FIG. 3 depicts an alternative embodiment of the present invention.Control terminal 34 is connected to the driver input 40 of basic driver12 rather than to the output. The embodiment of FIG. 3 may be used whenswitch 31 is too slow to close in time to dampen the signal reflection.Such an embodiment can deliver a control signal to switch 31 faster thanembodiments such as that shown in FIG. 2 because delay in the driver iseliminated. Again, a time delay element may be added to switch 31 ifswitch 31 closes before the applied rising-edged signal passes throughswitch 31.

FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment of the present invention devised tomodify and improve alternative series termination schemes. As shown, aseries termination is devised with an active termination 50 which, inthe depicted embodiment, is a variable resistance. The variableresistance adjusts to impedance changes in transmission line 16 or basicdriver 12. There are many ways known in the art to make a variableresistance, and the embodiment depicted here is merely one example thatmay be employed to advantage in the present invention. Activetermination 50 is connected in parallel with switch 31. The controlterminal of switch 31 may be operated as discussed with reference toearlier FIG. 2 or FIG. 3.

Active termination 50 includes a field effect transistor (FET) 52connected between the output of basic driver 12 and the proximal end Pof transmission line 16. The source terminal of FET 52 is connectedthrough diode 54 to one input of amplifier 56. The other input ofamplifier 56 is connected to a reference voltage, VREF, which istypically half of VDD (the voltage representing a high digital signal).The output of amplifier 56 is connected as a feedback to the gate of FET52. The feedback adjusts the drain-to-source resistance of FET 52 tomatch the basic driver 12 output impedance to the impedance oftransmission line 16; thus keeping the voltage on proximal end P oftransmission line 16 close to VREF when switch 31 is open.

FIG. 5 depicts another alternative embodiment of the present invention.An adjusting termination 60 is shown connected between basic driver 12and transmission line 16. Adjusting termination 60 has a controlterminal 62. In response to input signals, control terminal 62 causesadjusting termination 60 to change from a zero or near zero impedance toan impedance that matches or is close to that of transmission line 16.Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variable resistancecircuits may be employed as depicted in the disclosed embodiment. Inthis embodiment, control terminal 62 is connected to the output of basicdriver 12. However, control terminal 62 could be connected to the inputof basic driver 12. Adjusting termination 60 exhibits a time delaybetween the application of an appropriate signal to control terminal 62and the change to a matching impedance. The time delay is preferably nogreater than twice the propagation delay of the transmission line.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram depicting the propagation of signal voltageson the circuit of FIG. 2 and selected other embodiments of the presentinvention. Waveform 6A represents the voltage appearing between basicdriver 12 and series termination 14. Waveform 6B represents the voltageappearing at receiver load 18. Waveform 6C represents the currentthrough series termination 14.

All of the waveforms are on the same timescale, with time on thehorizontal axis. Time T=0 is the time that basic driver 12 starts toapply a signal. Time “T_(D)” represents the propagation delay oftransmission line 16. That is, the time it takes for a voltage signal topropagate the length of transmission line 16. Time 2T_(D) is the time ittakes for a signal to propagate along transmission line 16 added to thetime it takes for a reflection to propagate back from the load to reachthe driver.

With reference to waveform 6A, at time T=0, basic driver 12 applies therising-edged signal. Time T_(RISE) is the rise time of the rising-edgedsignal. Rise times for different drivers vary greatly, but some fastdrivers might have rise times of 0.05 nS to 0.4 nS or lower. The appliedrising-edged signal propagates along transmission line 16 until itreaches distal end D. The voltage at D is shown in waveform 6B. Thiswaveform shows a rise time T_(LOAD) that is greater than T_(RISE)because transmission line 16 and load 18 absorb energy and disperse thesignal. The magnitude of waveform 6B is typically larger than that of 6Abecause load 18 precipitates an additive reflection that travels backtoward control basic driver 30.

Waveform 6C represents the current through series termination 14. Nocurrent flows through termination 14 until time T_(S), when switch 31opens. Until switch 31 opens, all or most of the current flows throughswitch 31 instead of series termination 14. When switch 31 opens, all ormost of the current flows through termination 14.

The reflection from load 18 causes a spike of current shown on waveform6C shown at time 2T_(D) and a spike of voltage shown on waveform 6A attime 2T_(D). After the spike shown on waveform 6C, the current throughseries termination 14 typically drops to near zero amps because load 18typically has a high input impedance and draws minimal current.

Waveform 6C is marked with arrows “T_(S) Range” indicating a range ofexemplar times where T_(S) may be found, i.e., the time when switch 31opens. Switch 31 preferably opens after time T_(RISE) and before time2T_(D). However, the switch could open before the rise time is completeif a substantial amount of the energy needed to drive the loadedtransmission line HIGH were already applied to the transmission line.Time T_(S) is preferably somewhere near one-half of the total ofT_(D)+T_(LOAD). Further, time T_(S) may be chosen in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention with equation 1. $\begin{matrix}{{T_{S} = {\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}}},} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where RC is the resistive-capacitive time constant of the entiretransmission line circuit, including load 18. RC is calculated as anequivalent RC with switch 31 closed. This equation may yield favorableresults for practicing embodiments of the invention even when R, C, andT_(RISE) vary greatly.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a procedure for configuring certainembodiments of the present invention. This procedure may yield favorableresults for practicing the invention for a point to point or startransmission line topology driving a heavy load.

Step 71 determines the basic driver 12 (FIGS. 2–5) rise time T_(RISE) ina “no load” condition. Step 72 determines the total load capacitanceC_(LOAD). One or more receivers connected to transmission line 14 in apoint-to-point or star configuration may be added to calculate C_(LOAD),excluding the transmission line 14 capacitance. Step 73 determines theexpected transmission line propagation time, T_(TRAN). Desired partplacement and signal propagation delay per unit length of transmissionline largely determine T_(TRAN).

Step 74 determines the desired rise time at the load, T_(LOAD). Certainembodiments of the invention may yield more favorable results whenT_(LOAD) is less than the round trip delay time 2*T_(TRAN) oftransmission line 14. Step 75 sets the impedance Z of the transmissionline based on C_(LOAD) and T_(LOAD). Impedance Z may be determined inaccordance with equation 2.Z=sqrt(2)*T _(LOAD) /C _(LOAD)  (2)

Equation 2 may be modified to include a correction factor devised toadjust for unloaded rise time T_(RISE). For operating environments withhigh load capacitances C_(LOAD) and short values of T_(LOAD), equation 2may result in values of impedance Z that are low compared to the lowestvalues achievable with a particular transmission line or tracetechnology. Two or more relatively high impedance transmission lines ortraces may be employed in parallel to achieve these low impedance Zvalues. Alternatively, load capacitance C_(LOAD) could be reduced or alonger rise time T_(LOAD) could be chosen by working backwards from thelowest practical impedance Z in a particular operating environment todetermine the charge needed on C_(LOAD).

With continued reference to FIG. 7, step 76 determines the switchingtime T_(S). Switching time T_(S), described with regard toabove-referenced FIG. 6, is the time at which series termination 14impedance changes to match the transmission line impedance. T_(S) may,in this alternative embodiment of the invention, be approximatelydetermined in accordance with equation 3.T _(S) =Z*C _(LOAD)/sqrt(2)  (3)

Switching time T_(S) may be implemented in a variety of ways. Oneimplementation method is to calculate the T_(S) required by theapplication, as described with regard to Step 76, then arrangecomponents such as a capacitor, a resistor, and/or PCB traces withspecified lengths to achieve a time delay. Another implementation mayuse a calibration scheme on a dedicated dummy net to monitor the currentout of the driver. A driver with an optimal T_(S) value will typicallyexhibit a zero mA current after the reflection has arrived at the loadand the energy in the reflection wavefront has dissipated. Typically,any non-zero current after the reflection has dissipated may beamplified and used as a feedback signal to calibrate T_(S).

FIG. 8 is graph of a rising load voltage wavefrom 8A according to oneembodiment of the present invention, configured according to theprocedure described with regard to FIG. 7, compared with a conventionalseries termination driver waveform 8B. The invention may be practicedwith advantage to drive a heavy capacitive load through a transmissionline with a linear voltage ramp at the load as shown in waveform 8A,until the load substantially reaches the desired voltage rail Vddq, andthen an abrupt slow-down in the voltage rise as shown at point 82 onwaveform 8A. The change of series termination impedance at time T_(S)typically causes the current from the driver to be halved. This halving,after a T_(TRAN) delay of 1 nS in this exemplar, typically causes theload voltage curve to abruptly flatten, producing a “sharp voltagecorner” at the load with minimal overshoot or undershoot, as shown atpoint 82. In a preferred embodiment, the driver impedance is close tozero ohms. If T_(TRAN) is short relative to the sum of loaded rise timeT_(LOAD) and unloaded rise time T_(RISE), the load slew rate curve mayhave noticeable change as one or more reflections travel on theun-terminated transmission line before time T_(S). In such a case, timeT_(S) may be set to be less than 2*T_(TRAN), and a constant-currentdriver may be used to advantage to drive energy to finish charging loadcapacitance through series termination 14.

Those of skill in the art will realize, after appreciating thisspecification, that the improved slew rate and voltage margincharacteristics described with regard to FIG. 8 may be employed toadvantage by lowering the range of HIGH and LOW voltage signals from thetypical full voltage range of zero volts to Vddq. This may be achievedby, for example, driving the load between Vddq*¼ as a LOW signal andVddq*¾ as a HIGH signal. In this exemplar, the driver may achieve atransition to HIGH by signaling at Vddq, and then at time T_(S)signaling at Vddq*¾ with series termination 14 in place. Time T_(S), inthis exemplar embodiment, would be determined according to the proceduredescribed with regard to above-referenced FIG. 7, using, however, adesired rise time at the load in Step 74 adjusted to account for theshorter rise time and smaller load charging energy needed to reachVddq*¾. Further, in this exemplar, the driver may achieve a transitionto LOW by signaling at ground, and then at time T_(S) switching tosignal at Vddq*¼ with series termination 14 in place. This exemplarembodiment of the invention may be practiced to advantage to lowertransition time between signal levels and reduce power consumption.Further, as those of skill in the art will realize after appreciatingthis specification, the invention may be employed to advantage in asignaling scheme with multiple signal levels to improve the voltagemargin and slew rate of signal transitions.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodiedin a variety of specific forms and that various changes, substitutionsand alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. The described embodiments are only illustrative andnot restrictive and the scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the following claims.

1. A transmission line driving circuit comprising: (a) a driver havingan output; (b) a transmission line having a proximal end and at leastone distal end, the transmission line having an impedance; (c) a seriestermination having a first terminal and a second terminal, the firstterminal being connected to the driver output and the second terminalbeing connected to the transmission line proximal end; and (d) a switchconnected in parallel to the series termination, the switch operablewhen activated to change between a first, closed mode in which itoperates as a substantially shorted circuit and a second, open mode inwhich it operates as a substantially open circuit.
 2. The transmissionline driving circuit of claim 1 wherein the driver output is operablyconnected to a switch control terminal such that a rising-edged signalon the driver output will cause the switch to change to the second, openmode after a switching delay time no greater than twice the time neededfor a signal to move from the proximal end of the transmission line tothe at least one distal end of the transmission line.
 3. Thetransmission line driving circuit of claim 2 wherein the switching delaytime is within plus or minus 20 percent of half of a rise time of therising-edged signal on the transmission line driving circuit with an atleast one load connected to the at least one distal end of thetransmission line.
 4. The transmission line driving circuit of claim 2wherein the transmission line driving circuit is configured such thatthe switching delay time substantially satisfies the expression:${\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}},$where RC is a resistive-capacitive time constant of the transmissionline driving circuit with the switch in the first closed mode, and atleast one load is attached to the at least one distal end of thetransmission line, and where T_(RISE) is the rise time of therising-edged signal on the driver output.
 5. The transmission linedriving circuit of claim 1 wherein the driver output is operablyconnected to a switch control terminal such that a falling-edged signalon the driver output will cause the circuit to change to the first,closed mode before the switch changes to the second, open mode.
 6. Thetransmission line driving circuit of claim 1 further comprising at leastone receiver connected to the at least one distal end of thetransmission line.
 7. The transmission line driving circuit of claim 1wherein the series termination has an impedance that is substantiallymatched to the transmission line impedance.
 8. The transmission linedriving circuit of claim 1 wherein the series termination is a resistor.9. The transmission line driving circuit of claim 1 wherein the switchis a FET switch.
 10. The transmission line driving circuit of claim 1wherein the transmission line comprises a printed circuit board trace.11. The transmission line driving circuit of claim 1 wherein the switchis activated by a binary signal.
 12. A method of controlling atransmission line reflection comprising the steps of: (a) producing ashort circuit across a first and second terminal of a source terminationconnected to a proximal end of a transmission line; (b) employing asignal driver to apply a transitioning signal through the short circuitto the proximal end of the transmission line; and (c) after applying thetransitioning signal and before a signal reflection arrives from an atleast one distal end of the transmission line, opening the shortcircuit.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step ofpausing for a time delay before opening the short circuit.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the time delay is approximately one-half ofan effective transition time of the transitioning signal in a circuitcontaining the driver, the transmission line, and an at least one loadconnected to the at least one distal end of the transmission line. 15.The method of claim 13 wherein the time delay substantially satisfiesthe expression:${\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}},$wherein RC is a resistive-capacitive time constant of the transmissionline driving circuit, including at least one load attached to the distalend of the transmission line, RC being determined with short circuitexisting across the series termination, and wherein T_(RISE) is atransition time of the transitioning signal as applied to the proximalend of the transmission line.
 16. The method of claim 13 wherein thestep of pausing for a time delay is accomplished by opening the shortcircuit with a switch having a known switching delay time.
 17. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the step of producing a short circuitcomprises closing a switch connected across the first and secondterminals of the series termination.
 18. The method of claim 12 whereinthe step of opening the short circuit comprises opening a switchconnected across the first and second terminals of the seriestermination.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein step of opening theshort circuit is accomplished by applying the transitioning signal to acontrol terminal of the switch.
 20. The method of claim 18 wherein thestep of opening the short circuit is accomplished by applying a driverinput signal to a control terminal of the switch.
 21. The method ofclaim 12 wherein the step of producing the short circuit is accomplishedby applying a falling-edged signal to the control terminal of theswitch.
 22. An adapting source termination circuit comprising: (a) acontrol terminal; (b) an input terminal; (c) an output terminal; (d) atransmission line having a proximal end, at least one distal end, and animpedance, the proximal end being connected to the output terminal; and(e) wherein the adapting source termination circuit is operable tochange a termination impedance, as measured between the input terminaland the output terminal, from a zero or near zero impedance to animpedance substantially matching the transmission line impedance after atransitioning signal is applied to the input terminal and before asignal reflection arrives from the at least one distal end of thetransmission line.
 23. The adapting source termination circuit of claim22 further comprising: (a) a resistor connected between the inputterminal and the output terminal, the resistor having an impedancesubstantially matching the impedance of the transmission line; and (b) aswitch connected in parallel with the resistor, the switch having aswitch control terminal, the switch control terminal being connected tothe adapting source termination circuit control terminal.
 24. Theadapting source termination circuit of claim 22 further comprising: (a)a FET connected between the input terminal and the output terminal; (b)a circuit adapted to apply a varying voltage on the gate of the FET inresponse to a signal on the control terminal to vary the drain-to-sourceresistance of the FET.
 25. The adapting source termination circuit ofclaim 22 wherein the control terminal is adapted to receive binarysignals, the binary signals operable to cause the change in impedance.26. The adapting source termination circuit of claim 22 wherein theinput terminal is connected to an output of a driver.
 27. The adaptingsource termination circuit of claim 26 wherein the driver has an outputimpedance of less than 2.5 ohms.
 28. The adapting source terminationcircuit of claim 22 wherein the control terminal is connected to anoutput of a driver.
 29. The adapting source termination circuit of claim22 wherein the control terminal is connected to an input of a driver.30. The adapting source termination circuit of claim 22 wherein thechange of termination impedance occurs after a delay time ofapproximately half of an effective transition time of the transmissionline.
 31. The adapting source termination circuit of claim 22 whereinthe change of termination impedance occurs after a delay time chosen tosubstantially satisfy the expression:$\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}$wherein RC is the resistive-capacitive time constant of the adaptingsource termination circuit with the zero or near zero impedance,including an at least one load attached to the at least one distal endof the transmission line, and wherein T_(RISE) is the transition time ofthe transitioning signal as applied to the input terminal.
 32. A methodof controlling a transmission line reflection comprising the steps of:(a) driving a transmission line with a transitioning signal through acircuit with an impedance that is substantially zero; (b) aftersubstantially driving the transmission line and before a signalreflection arrives from a distal end of the transmission line, changingthe impedance of the circuit from a substantially zero impedance to animpedance that substantially matches an impedance of the transmissionline.
 33. The method of claim 32 further including the step of pausingfor a time delay before changing the impedance.
 34. The method of claim33 wherein the time delay is approximately one-half of an effectivetransition time of the transmission line.
 35. The method of claim 33wherein the time delay substantially matches the expression:${\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}},$wherein RC is a resistive-capacitive time constant of a circuitincluding the transmission line, a driver, and at least one loadattached to the distal end of the transmission line, RC being calculatedusing the substantially zero impedance, and wherein T_(RISE) is atransition time of the transitioning signal as applied to thetransmission line.
 36. A reflection control driver comprising: (a) adriver having a driver output; (b) a controllable series terminationhaving a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal, thefirst terminal being connected to the driver output, the controllableseries termination being configured to present a first short-circuitimpedance between the first terminal and the second terminal in responseto a first control signal being applied on the control terminal, thecontrollable series termination being configured to present a secondimpedance between the first terminal and the second terminal in responseto a second control signal on the control terminal.
 37. The reflectioncontrol driver of claim 36 wherein the driver output is connected to thecontrol terminal.
 38. The reflection control driver of claim 36 furthercomprising a driver input terminal on the driver, the driver inputterminal being connected to the control terminal.
 39. The reflectioncontrol driver of claim 36 wherein the controllable series terminationis configured to present the second impedance in response to the secondinput signal after a time delay.
 40. The reflection control driver ofclaim 39 wherein the time delay is at least a substantial portion of atransition time of a transitioning signal applied on the driver output.41. The method of claim 39 wherein the time delay is approximatelyone-half of an effective transition time of the transitioning signal ina circuit containing the reflection control driver, a transmission line,and at least one load connected to an at least one distal end of thetransmission line.
 42. The method of claim 39 wherein the time delaysubstantially matches the expression:${\frac{\Pi}{e}\mspace{11mu}{{SquareRoot}\left( {\left( {{({RC})\hat{}2} + {T_{RISE}\hat{}2}} \right)/2} \right)}},$wherein RC is the resistive-capacitive time constant of a circuitincluding the reflection control driver attached to a proximal end of atransmission line and at least one load attached to a distal end of thetransmission line, RC being determined using the first short-circuitimpedance, and wherein T_(RISE) is the transition time of thetransitioning signal applied on the driver output.
 43. The reflectioncontrol driver of claim 36 wherein the controllable series terminationfurther comprises: (a) a resistor connected between the first and secondterminals; (b) a switch connected between the first and secondterminals, the switch being operably connected to the control terminal.44. The reflection control driver of claim 43 wherein the switch is aFET.
 45. The reflection control driver of claim 36 further comprising avariable resistor connected between the first and second terminals andoperatively connected to the control terminal.
 46. A method ofconfiguring a transmission line circuit comprising the steps of: (a)finding an unloaded rise time of a driver; (b) finding an expected totalload capacitance C_(LOAD) on a transmission line; (c) finding a desiredrise time T_(LOAD) at a load; (d) setting an impedance Z of thetransmission line to substantially satisfy the expressionZ=sqrt(2)*T_(LOAD)/C_(LOAD) if the result of the expression is higherthan a lowest practical Z value; (e) setting the impedance Z of thetransmission line to the lowest practical Z value if the result ofexpression Z=sqrt(2)*T_(LOAD)/C_(LOAD) is lower than the lowestpractical Z value; (f) setting a series termination switching time T_(S)such that the driver transmits substantially all of a charge needed tocharge C_(LOAD) onto the transmission line through a short circuitbefore time T_(S).
 47. The method of claim 46, further including thestep of setting a constant current driver to a current needed to drivesubstantially all of a charge needed to charge C_(LOAD) before timeT_(S).
 48. A method of calibrating a circuit comprising the steps of:(a) measuring a current out of a driver after a first reflection from adistal end of a transmission line has been dissipated; (b) increasing aseries termination switching time T_(S) if the current is non-zero.